mabli@idirect.com
A Different Brand Of Mousse 1
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic by Mark Ferrer
Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to their respective owners. Only the original characters are mine. Don't sue me, please. (I need all my money for anime!)
Note: I've taken some liberties with some/all of the characters. Sorry, I couldn't help it. This fic also has small crossovers that usually don't have any big bearing on the fic.
Thoughts are in <>
Normal dialogue is in quotes (duh)
It was a rainy day in Nerima. The students in Furinkan High were cooped up in the school during lunchtime looking out at the never ending rain. The contractors renovating Ucchan's were taking a break, still amazed at the damaged it sustained without crumbling to pieces. Soun and Genma were as usual playing shogi.
At the Nekohanten, two fighters were squaring off. The lull in activity had prompted Mousse to try out what his latest training journey had brought with it. Today was the day, if Mousse won, he could date Shampoo. If he lost, he would no longer be allowed to ask Shampoo on a date. He had clearly set it up that he could still be allowed to marry her.
Shampoo was breathing lightly while Mousse was panting hard and his clothes were in disarray. Shampoo couldn't believe that Mousse was able to slip in the being able to marry her part. Cologne agreed to the terms telling Shampoo secretly that it meant he no longer had the privilage of dating with her. It was a step closer to the day when Mousse fought over the privilege of marrying her and losing. Mousse couldn't believe he had gone for a whole half-hour against the one he loved. His training improved his endurance and he was coming closer and closer to being able to knock Shampoo unconscious before his instincts took over.
thought Shampoo. <...but not good enough.>
She rushed at Mousse with her bonbori. The chinese boy was too tired to dodge and was knocked out the door, turning into a duck in the pouring rain. Shampoo looked around at the restaurant and saw that their fight didn't affect the diner at all.
she thought. A ringing phone called her attention and the promise of more customers called Shampoo to attention and she ran to the phone.
Mousse got up waddling back into the restaurant. he thought.
Suddenly, he was grabbed by a hooded blur. He opened his beak to quack but it was quickly tied up. He tried to fly away but he was placed in a box. He was slightly relieved that the box had holes in it but he started thinking the worst. Out of one of the holes, he could see part of the face of the person who ducknapped him.
"You're a hard person to find, Mousse." he said. Mousse saw him place something into box through one of the holes. He turned in the small box to see what it was but blacked out at the smoke coming from the object.
he thought before losing all consciousness. The hooded man looked to see if anyone was looking and disappeared.
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Mousse woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He couldn't hear any sounds of a city so he jumped up to see where he was. He was in the middle of a clearing in a forest back in human form. He took a deep breath of the sweet air.
he thought,
"Welcome back to China." a voice behind him said.
Mousse took out his glasses to see a masked man approaching him. He dropped into a defensive position and said, "It's nice to be back but I'd like to return to Japan if you don't mind."
The masked man put up his hands and said, "I am not asking for a fight young man. At least, not yet anyway."
Mousse lowered his guard. He couldn't believe that he was actually going to trust the man. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I want to help you." the masked man answered. "You have been ignoring your training far too long, you are cursed and you cannot see without your glasses. I am going to try to solve every one of your problems."
Mousse laughed and said, "Why would you want to help me?" Absently, he was cycling through all the people he knew and tried to match the voice to a face. he screamed mentally.
"I'm going to help you because you have the potential to be the most powerful human on earth. Does that sound to your liking?" he asked calmly.
Mousse gave a small nod.
"First, I want to test your current fighting ability." He seemingly grabbed two swords out of thin air and slashed them at Mousse.
Mousse thought. He let his chains fly out from his robes but they were dodged and got lodged deep into the tree behind the masked man.
"You've always relied too much on your chains Mousse." the man said sternly.
Mousse threw some shurikens at the man then took out two huge battleaxes. He tried getting as close as possible to do the most damage but just ended up cleaving both swords in two. The masked man then threw some shurikens of his own at Mousse. He threw them like he had an endless supply.
Mousse noted.
Mousse ducked, jumped over and batted back as many stars as he could. He threw both axes at the man. The masked man stood at the perfect position for both axes to pass by inches past his head.
the man thought. He snapped out of it just in time to dodge the potty trainers Mousse threw. "Mousse, try to counter this!" he said. Again, from thin air, he took out two huge spiked balls and swung them around his body.
Mousse thought.
He experimentally threw another potty trainer at the masked man. The spiked balls smashed the potty trainer into dust. He threw knives but they deflected off and almost got him instead. He took out his gas spraying toy duck but the whirling spiked balls acted like a fan and blew it all back a Mousse. Mousse fought back the sleep instinct and jumped as high as he could. He was directly over the masked man when he felt himself being lifted higher off the ground.
Mousse started to panic. He got all his weapons ready for the rarely seen... "HIDDEN WEAPONS FINAL ATTACK. EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK!!!" he yelled.
The masked man below saw his view of Mousse blocked by thousands of objects coming at him. All the weapons rushing at him blocked out the sunlight in the spot he was in.
"I win Mousse." he yelled and he spun the balls so fast that all the weapons lost their momentum and were harmlessly blown off to the side. Mousse stared in shock as all his weapons missed their mark. He was still in the air when the masked man said, "You have a lot to learn still." The man slowed the spinning balls down to let Mousse land on the ground.
"The problem with that attack is that you really do use all your weapons." he said thoughtfully. "I will teach you that attacks the will allow you beat any of your rivals. In a short while, you may be able to beat Cologne or Happosai." the masked man thought.
Mousse, still shaken from the fight asked, "This may sound weird but, could you help me get them all back?"
The masked man closed his eyes and concentrated. All of Mousse's weapons seemed to fly up and go into a pile near them. "That is one of the techniques I will teach you. For now, put all your weapons back, then got to the hut at the end of the trail." He pointed to a trail going deeper into the forest and walked to it.
Mousse thought. He started the long and tedious process of replacing all his weapons back into his robes. He looked up at the huge pile of weapons in front of him. Mousse reviewed the fight and the way the masked man moved. his mind screamed.
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Mousse made his way to the trail the masked man had pointed to after about three hours of repacking every weapon he had. Like after every fight, he felt as if he was missing at least one of his weapons.
he thought glumly, He looked up at the sun and tried guessing where in China he was in but came up empty. he thought. At the end of the trail, he came upon a small hut. Guessing it was the masked man's, he made his way inside.
"Is anybody home?" Mousse called it, opening the door slowly.
"Come in!" he heard, the voice being muffled by the walls.
Mousse looked around the strange hut. Everything looked brand new, except for the hut itself. The hut also seemed a lot bigger than the outside had led him to believe. As with all masters of Hidden Weapons, the man's quarters were neatly strewn with weapons of every type. He saw a chair and sat down in it. Rustling from another room caught his attention so he turned and a door opened, the masked man exiting from it. He noticed that the door was flush to the wall and was well hidden.
"How do you like it?" the masked man asked.
"It's... nice." Mousse said unsurely, looking at the multiple weapons on all the walls.
The masked man pulled up a chair and sat down in it. "It's nice to see a fellow artist who trains in the Hidden Weapons." Mousse said humbly. "It's amazing what you did out there. Who taught you?"
The masked man seemed to think about it a bit then said, "I was taught under the same sifu as you. He trained me for a while, then I left and travelled the world to test my skill. Thinking back, I think forgot to tell you my name. I guess I was just anxious to meet you. My name is Gel."
Mousse nodded and asked, "If you don't mind my asking, how do you know me?"
"A valid question, but unfortunately, I don't think I should answer that for you right now. You'll just have to trust me." Gel said, almost pleadingly.
<'You'll just have to trust me.' Famous last words.> Mousse thought.
The sound of a kettle boiling interrupted their conversation and Gel said, "Just wait a sec, I'll be right back."
Mousse nodded and stared as Gel opened the door with a well hidden doorknob. The door swung back shut, becoming one with the wall. Mousse thought. He got up and further scrutinized the hut. It looked around, it looked like a weird type of bachelor pad. In a corner was a powerful looking entertainment system. Walking to the trophy area of the room, he examined some trophies, animal heads, and ornate weapons. What he couldn't find were photos. There wasn't a single photo in the house. At least in the living room and dining room which he was currently in. He walked up to a display case with strange looking weapons. He carefully scrutinized them with his glasses on.
In the kitchen, Gel grabbed two tea kettles and got ready to leave when, he felt a strong wave of nausea. He managed to save the kettles from spilling and put them on the counter. He took a couple minutes to get over it and checked an electronic device on his upper arm.
he thought. Composing himself, Gel came back in to see Mousse admiring one of his weapons on display. He smiled and said, "I won that from a secret tournament for more exotic martial arts."
Mousse admired the sword. It was perfect size and weight for him and had ornate carvings on the hilt and the blade. Gel went over to the table and placed two kettles on it. From thin air, he took out two cups. "Would you like some tea?" he asked.
Mousse made his way over to the table and sat down. "Sure. I haven't had any good tea since I left China." he said, taking an offered cup. Mousse drank some and said, "This is good tea, but I don't think I can finish to kettles full."
Gel smiled and said, "One is for drinking. The other is for something else..." Gel poured more tea for himself. "Mousse," he said, "I know of your curse. Would you like to be cured of it?"
Mousse almost choked on the tea. "Yes!" Mousse said anxiously. Gel nodded his head and from out of nowhere, he took out another glass and splashed Mousse with cold water.
"Quack, quack, quack!" Mousse quacked angrily, nearly making his glasses fall off.
"Calm down Mousse. This is how to cure you." Gel soothed. He picked up the second kettle and dumped its contents onto Mousse.
Human Mousse reappeared and said, "Hey, you could have at least warned me first!"
Gel chuckled and said, "Sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen anyone change with a Jusenkyo curse. Forgive me."
Mousse looked down at himself. He still couldn't explain it but sometimes, when he turned back, he was naked and other times he had his clothes on. This time being one of the latter. "Am I really cured?" Mousse asked.
Gel threw the remains of the cold water at him and then finished his tea. Mousse stood stunned, not only at the ice cold water, but the fact that he was no longer a duck.
"This is amazing!" he said, dancing around in joy. He yelled at the top of his lungs, danced the Macarena. He pretty much acted like a complete idiot. Meanwhile, Gel continued drinking tea.
After a good five minutes of the craziness, Mousse finally calmed down and asked, "Gel, can you tell me how to cure others? I need to cure my beloved Shampoo."
Gel put his cup down slowly. The new course of the conversation seemed to lower his spirits. "The cure for each Jusenkyo curse is different. It took me a long time to learn of just the cure for you."
Mousse slumped his shoulders at the fact that he couldn't give Shampoo the cure.
"Don't worry, you'll find a cure for Shampoo." Gel got up and said, "Let's start with your first lesson." He walked, not waiting for Mousse and stopped just in front of the house. He waited until Mousse was beside him.
"Look closely at what a true master of the Hidden Weapons technique can do." Mousse instinctively stepped back. Gel spread his arms and a black hole formed before him. Mousse had no idea what was going to happen next.
"Unlike you, I do not keep my weapons in my clothes. I keep them in this, a dimensional closet if you will. It's been called The Void or the Black Hole technique in places around the world." Gel lectured. "Come with me Mousse." Gel said, stepping into the hole. Mousse cautiously stepped in behind him.
On the other side of the black hole was a warehouse looking building. "That is where I keep my weapons." Gel pointed. "But look around."
Mousse saw that they were standing in an open field. It look untouched by humans. In the sky, he saw three moons.
"In the void, you are like a god, you can create almost anything you desire. Some of the more complex things require you to know exactly how it operates." Gel paused when he saw Mousse's confused look.
"Please observe." Gel closed his eyes and in front of him formed a TV. "Another limitation is that to make energy in here, you need to know how to generate energy. Maybe with a hydro-electric dam or something. I myself do not know enough to make a TV. If you open it up, you'll see that it's empty. I just know what it's like on the outside." Mousse picked up the TV and opened it up with a sharp tap. There was nothing in it.
"This is all amazing but how do you make your own black hole?" Mousse asked.
"That's what the spell is for." Gel said, taking out an ancient looking manuscript and giving it to Mousse. "Come back outside, you can't make a black hole in another black hole." Gel said, leaving Mousse again.
Mousse looked over the piece of paper as he walked back through the hole. He couldn't even to begin to decipher what it said. he thought.
He gave it back to Gel and asked, "How do you make it?"
"Simple." Gel said, reading over the ancient manuscript. "You stand perfectly still and keep your mind clear of all thoughts while I read the incantation. Concentrating on what I say will also help." Mousse nodded and sat down.
Gel read quietly and smoothly, walking around Mousse in a wide circle.
Mousse thought.
"Keep your mind clear." Gel whispered before continuing his chanting. Mousse mind cleared as he listened to Gel chanting softly. The words seemed to evoke strange memories to him but put them aside, remembering to keep his mind clear. He felt as if he was in the darkness, floating around aimlessly at the sound of Gel's words.
"Mousse. It's done" Gel said, tapping him on the shoulder.
Mousse opened his eyes to see a swirling black hole in front of him. He blinked his eyes, unsure if he had just seen a flash of lightning deep within the hole.
"The next step is for you to learn to control the void. That is done by you stepping into it and commanding it to follow you." Gel read off the sheet. He looked up and said, "This part is completely up to you. If you succeed in controlling it, you'll have full control. If you fail, you disappear forever. There is no halfways. Only true masters of Hidden Weapons can fully control it. Think of this as another test." Mousse took a deep breath and stepped in.
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Time seemed to stand still as Mousse floated in his new toy. He had no idea which way was down. He was weightless. He was in complete darkness and unsure of what to do next.
Mousse thought. Seeing no other alternatives, he decided to copy what Gel showed him with the TV. He thought of a flat, grassy plain like he saw in Gel's world. He was buffeted by high winds. He felt his glasses slip off in account of the tremendous wind. The wind blasted him around for a few more seconds then he suddenly found himself face to face with the ground.
He got up and looked around. It was still dark but he felt something solid underneath him. He promptly emptied the contents of his stomach onto it. Getting up, he wiped his mouth with a tissue from his robes and took out another set of glasses.
He remembered the sun Gel had and it appeared in the sky. It was so hot and so bright that Mousse immediately made it disappear. He concentrated on making it exactly like the sun.
Eventually, the temperature got comfortable and the brightness practically the same as the sun. He looked back at his surroundings and saw that they were in black and white. There was nothing around for 50 meters. He was on a circular spot of ground covered with grass. He concentrated again, thinking of the mountains and valleys of his homeland and the circular spot became larger and spread out onto the horizon, becoming hills and valleys as it went. Colour came to his surroundings and Mousse took a good look around. At his feet were the glasses he had lost while floating around. He placed it in his robes and took another look at his world. It now looked exactly like Gel's world's rolling hills and valleys except for Gel's changes.
"All in a day's work." Mousse said to the wind. He looked back to the opening and stepped outside.
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When he stepped outside, he noticed that he sun had set, a second later, fell over in agony, the pain causing his eyes to water. He tried thinking what could have caused it but nothing came to mind. He felt strong arms carry him up and towards Gel's hut before he lost consciousness.
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Mousse awoke to the smell of food cooking. It smelled like a dish from the Nekohanten.
Gel came in and said, "Congratulations, you were able to make your own new world."
Mousse nodded and tried to speak but nothing came out.
"You can't say anything for a little while. After making your world, you lost touch with this one and coming back after the first time may mess you up a bit. I guess it's the price of receiving such power." Gel said, looking Mousse over like a doctor.
"The Black Hole can be used by anyone, but only people who have the power of telekinesis can utilize it fully."
Mousse eyebrow twitched in question.
"I know that you have latent telekinetic powers. The fact that you're so good at Hidden Weapons proves that. I want you to try and do what I do."
Gel took out a throwing knife and threw it at a wall where it stuck in halfway to the hilt. Gel raised his hand and it snapped out of the wall and into his hand handle first. "I'm a natural at this. I have a good feeling that you're a natural too." he commented. He put it back into his void and said, "Let me go get dinner."
Mousse looked at the hole caused by Gel's knife. He took out his own knife and threw it onto the wall.
He concentrated and tried making it come to his hands. It didn't budge. Remembering what he did in his world, he tried a different approach. The knife twitched and fell to the floor. he thought, reaching his hand out slightly. Instead of jumping up to his hand, the knife merely slid on the floor and stopped on the spot his hand was over. Mousse thought sadly.
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Dinner was full of talk about the new techniques Mousse was learning. He found out that when you combine well controlled telekinesis and the use of the black void, you would become a very formidable opponent.
"You could move the void wherever you want, meaning that if you stepped inside and made it move somewhere else, you had the power to teleport. It can also be made invisible to the untrained eye. With telekinesis, you could form a barrier to shield yourself from attacks. A counter to ki attacks or projectiles is letting it go into your void and turn it around so that it comes back towards the person who launched it." Gel had said.
Mousse asked about being able to beat people up using telekinesis alone. When Gel answered yes, Mousse immediately thought of the possibilities that were being opened to him. He could easily take on Ranma and anyone else he wanted to beat.
he thought.
Gel meanwhile looked at his excited student.
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Back at the Nekohanten, Shampoo slumped tiredly in her chair. She and Cologne had just closed down the Nekohanten after a record breaking sales rush. The thunderstorm was only the calm before the storm. As soon as it had stopped, customers flooded in like a tsunami. Maybe the fact that Ucchan's was closed for temporary renovations had also helped up that record. Her whole body ached after waiting tables, cooking and making deliveries all day. She couldn't understand why Mousse wasn't there, leaving her and Cologne to work during one of the Nekohanten's busiest days. If she wasn't as fit as she was, she would have probably fainted from exhaustion hours ago.
she thought fiercely.
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Mousse lie awake in Gel's sofa-bed wondering what to do with his new powers. He was well on his way to mastering his new techniques. In less than a week's time, he felt would be able to return to Japan again to win his love. Tomorrow brought the more advanced techniques of using the Black hole and telekinesis. Why is Gel so confident about my abilities? Who is he? How does he know so much about me and my situation? were just some of the questions he had in his head.
He took out a watch and found that it was nearing midnight. Seeing that he couldn't sleep, he decided to plan out his next moves, as he always tried to do. As soon as he got back to Japan, he would challenge Ranma. He would send out invitations to the fight to everyone he knew in Japan so that everyone can see his final victory.
He was stunned at what he had finally realized. If he went back, he would be treated like a lower form of being. He would lose all the standing he had in Japan. In Japan, he found that both genders were guaranteed equal rights. He had a say in the matter. His words could have some impact in the conversation.
He couldn't believe what he was thinking. Still Japan exposed him to other cultures and opened his eyes to how large the world really was. Thinking back to his life in the village, it seemed so confining compared to Japan. He remembered that when he wasn't chasing Shampoo, he was treated like an outcast. He could feel people staring at him as if he didn't belong there. People grew quiet when he came around. He could still remember the time he challenged Shampoo and got knocked into the trash.
** Mousse thought. His world was spinning so he lay still in the garbage heap. He was extremely lucky to land in a heap that didn't smell too bad. He tried recollecting his thoughts to what happened.
"Hey, did you hear? The 'blind bat' challenged Shampoo again."
Mousse thought.
Mousse kept quiet as the voices approached.
"That fool tried to win Shampoo again? How long did it take for her to beat him up again?" Blush asked.
"Only about 10 seconds." Soap answered. "Poor Shampoo. She has to deal with that guy almost everyday."
"I hear ya." Blush agreed. "Hey, you ever wonder why he's still here?"
"Cologne instructed everyone to be quiet about it. I wonder why she did it." Soap trailed off. The two girls turned the corner and their voices became indistinct.
Mousse asked himself.**
Mousse thought. He got up and walked over to the open window. he commented, looking at the stars feeling the wind gently blow into the hut.
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Gel walked into the living room where Mousse was sleeping on the sofa bed. He hefted the water filled bucket he was carrying and splashed the sleeping boy. Mousse was awakened instantly and tried jumping off the bed to face his attacker. Unfortunately, he fell off, landing on his head, making a big bump on his head.
"Time for more lessons." Gel announced in a loud voice and walked outside.
Mousse dressed up as quickly as a half-awake person could and walked outside. "Is that how you wake all your students?" he asked, his eyes still not completely open.
"Actually, you're my first student." Gel admitted. He motioned to a large tree and they sat down underneath it. "This isn't going to be a physical lesson as much as a spiritual lesson." he said, looking at Mousse as if he was transparent.
"Your eyesight is what causes you most problems, correct?" Mousse nodded.
"There's a way to overcome that weakness but it will involve some pain. Would you still like to continue?" Gel asked.
"What would you have to do?" Mousse asked, slightly concerned.
"I will have to make our minds join for a little while. It is necessary to give you the Mind's eye to cure your problem." he said, his eyes not quite focused on Mousse.
"Mind's eye?" Mousse asked, completely confused.
"Very few people have that power. It allows you to see better than anyone in the world. It allows you to see more than a normal person's eyes. With it, you could be watching something happening on the other side of the world as if you were really there." Gel said.
"That kinda sounds a lot like what TV's are for." Mousse said, getting even more confused than before.
"It's better than TV, I assure you. No installation fee or rental fee for the box." Gel joked.
Mousse didn't laugh, he was still confused.
"Would you like a demonstration?" Gel asked.
Mousse nodded.
"You might want to take your glasses off." said Gel.
Once Mousse took off his glasses, Gel moved closer and touched his hand to Mousse' face in something like a Vulcan Mind Meld. Mousse jumped back instinctively at what he saw. He saw images of things happening around the world and beyond. He saw Ranma getting booted into the koi pond, Shampoo on her delivery, American astronauts in a space shuttle, people fighting in a war, a family having a picnic, people in dark rooms making multi-billion dollar deals, aliens conversing in an alien language, the latest Playboy photo shoot...
Gel sat back and looked as Mousse sat, trying to understand what had just happened. "So, with this power, you can see everything?"
"Practically." Gel said, eyes focused on Mousse for the first time that day.
Mousse silently thought of the possibilities of it all.
Gel broke the silence by asking, "Do you want me to give it to you?"
Mousse nodded but asked, "You mean you can't learn it?"
Gel sighed and said, "Unfortunately, no. It must be given to you. It has only once happened that a person was born with it. When I give it to you, I will lose the power. Would you still like to continue?"
Mousse nodded and said, "Why are you doing this for me?"
Silence followed for a minute before Gel finally said, "For a better future." Gel quickly place his hands on Mousse's temples and closed his eyes. Mousse couldn't even get a startled gasp when the pain flew through his body. It felt like his head was being pounded by sledgehammers at amaguriken speed. The pain subsided and he saw Gel slumped over him, breathing hard. He moved to put Gel back in his seat when Gel's mask fell off revealing the man behind the mask.
End Part 1
C&C? Send 'em to mabli@idirect.com
Author's Notes: Mousse is probably my favourite character and I think it's about time for him to have a couple adventures.
I know it seems as if he's learning these powers without any price at all but remember Uncle Ben's favourite words, "With great power comes great responsibility."
But then of course, you should also remember the quote, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Tim Taylor, "MORE POWER!!!!!" (
geocities.com/tokyo/towers) (
geocities.com/tokyo)